I haven’t mentioned the question of playoff MVP since the first round when I picked Claude Giroux of the Philadelphia Flyers. He has been out of the playoffs since the end of the second round but I would still argue he is likely the playoff win shares leader among position players. He is starting to be challenged - most clearly by Dustin Brown of Los Angeles. I think the best players of the playoffs have been the West Conference goalies. Jonathan Quick and Mike Smith have had incredible playoffs. The success of their respective teams is strongly due to their strong play. Quick has a .946 saves percentage and a 1.54 GAA. Smith has faced significantly more shots per game and has a .944 saves percentage and a 1.99 GAA. I pick Smith as having more playoff win shares at this point because of his heavy workload but he is out of the playoffs. Therefore Jonathan Quick is the top player in the Conn Smythe race as he is playing well is still active in the playoffs.

Quick appears to be having a breakout year as a star goalie. If he can keep this up for several years he will go down as one of the great goalies of all time. It isn’t clear if he can keep this up or if this is a career year. That will be an interesting thing to watch into the future. One thing is clear. Jonathan Quick is a top goalie right now. In fact Abel to Yzerman looks really silly complaining about a December post picking Quick (and not Jimmy Howard) as the 2014 US Olympic goalie. I understand that the chief would rather rile up his fans than talk about reality. If he can find something that he can spin as being anti-Detroit even when it is fully accurate (picking Quick as the US goalie in 2014 is not controversial at all).

Jonathan Quick has had a very good season. He has a Vezina nomination 9though he likely won’t win it) and is the most likely Conn Smythe Trophy winner at this point. If this is a career year, it is a great career year and if this is repeatable Quick will have a great career.